Did this several years ago. Found an old school bell about halfway up. Rangers said a guy had wanted to see what it sounded like up there but had dumped it (it weighed about 70lbs). The summit was awesome, though. Highly recommend being in good shape before you go, it's a burner.

Great hike! It was around 100 degrees but plenty of shady spots to take a quick break if needed. Took us 2 hours up and an 1 hour and 15 minutes down. Took about a 20 minute rest at the top for snacks. Gorgeous views! Definitely glad we did this one!

I hiked this November 22, 2017. The weather was partly cloudy and windy. My friend and I started around 9:00. My friend had a double bypass open heart surgery 14 months earlier. He was stopping every 10 minutes so at 0.5 miles from the trailhead i told him to go back to the car. I was 65 and Scott was 62 at the time. We both had 25 to 30 pound packs, 1-1/4 gallons of water each. We used up most of the water because it’s necessary at altitude.

We are both from Arizona and 560 miles from the trailhead.

I continued up and reached the summit in very windy and cold conditions. My wind meter showed 57 mph on the summit. I had some food and took some photos and i did stop and take several photos on the way up and down. At 500’ vertical feet below the summit here was Scott. This totally surprised me and i was impressed. I continued down about 1/4 mile and waited for Scott. This was a place where i wasn’t blockIng the trail.

I never would allow any person i hike with to be behind me on the way down. Especially a person with a double bypass. If something went wrong then he would be up there on his own, not good. He summited and came down to me and continued down.

I told him to continue down and i stayed behind to help another hiker who had knee problems, i am a EMT. I wrapped his knee and helped him down.

Anyway the man i was helping needed helpto walk out even with his knee being wrapped. The trail is extremely rocky with large steps which are hard on you. I had to use my headlamp and it took me over 4 hours to descend from where i helped the hiker. We didn’t get down until around 7:00 pm over 90 minutes after dark. Scott got down just as daylight was fading.

The view is great from on the summit and as stated earlier lots of wind. I have over 45 years of mountaineering including Mt McKinleyand Mt Rainer via 6 different routes including Liberty Ridge. Even though this is a trail i take any mountain seriously. This isn’t for bragging but to show that i never treat trips like this lightly. I lived in Washington State for 60 years until i retired.

I suggest good boots and hiking poles tohelp with the decent which is tedious because your always stepping downs 12 to 24”. There is one small traverse on a mildly exposed slab 150’ below the summit. Two hikers in front of me turned around there because they didn’t want to risk a fall. Nothing wrong with knowing your limits and staying with them.

4.5 hours to summit because of issues with Scott the first 0.5 mile, 30 minutes on summit. Waiting for Scott to summit and to descend to where i was waiting 80 minutes. Helped another hiker with a knee issue and wrapped it, 30 minutes. Then another 4 hours to descend with him to his vehicle. Almost two hours in darkness with my headlamp. I will always help anyone with a issue even if it cost me the summit.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and i hope the message is clear. Also that times can almost double, if issues occur in your party, or with another.

Late post from March 2018. My wife and I backpacked and camped in Laguna Meadows night 1 and TM1(Toll Mountain) for night 2. Glorious hike and views. At this point in my life, I'm very out of shape, and I was fairly exhausted; however I would do it again. 45lb pack with 2.5l of water, and plenty of food.
****Definitely make the drive to the HOT SPRINGS in Big Bend right afterwards. Surprisingly had absolutely zero soreness the next few days.

Catching up on my AllTrails reviews. Did this in April 2017 with my then 12 year old son. First mile to mile and a half was no joke, incline got me. I’m a pretty tall 300 pound guy but made it up and down with no real issue. Beautiful hike, beautiful weather, beautiful view at top. Started around 8am, couple of rest stops, finished around 5pm, but detoured on the way down and added an hour. Great hike!

Did this loop, including Emory Peak in one day. I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone else. This hike is very strenuous, but the views! The view from the south rim is one of the most breath taking views I’ve ever seen. Especially in Texas! For me, it was worth it. But make this a 2 day hike and camp along the way.

This was my boyfriend and I’d first summit together. It was really foggy on the way up. We are both new hikers but we’re pretty fit. It took us around 6 1/2 hours to do the trail. We made it up in 3 1/2 hours with multiple breaks. We ate lunch at the top and rested our legs for a little bit until we made our way back down. The fog cleared on our way down and the views were incredible. Definitely worth it!

A little late getting this in, so here goes: I did my annual Freedom Hike (4th of July) this year. Decided to backpack this as, this is part of my training for Mount Whitney. Just getting through the first 1.5 miles of switchbacks was exhausting.

I started out at 10am on July 4th, the temperature was around 95. I weighed by backpack, it came in at 40lbs. Had about 30lbs of gear and carrying 5 liters of water made it weigh right around 40lbs.

The goal was to make to the summit campsite. Right about the turn that it goes from the switchbacks to the wooded area, I said that I would not mind if it rained. Low and behold, it started to rain, for about 3 hours. Stopped several times as the rain was getting heavier and I was keeping an eye out for lightning. This was around noon.

Saw some lightning, and I decided to move forward as the rain was going the other way. The temperature dropped about 20 degrees. It was 95 when I started, and it was 75 when the rains came in. About mile 2.75, saw several day hikers making their way down as they did not summit because of the rain. The Volunteer Ranger (and at this point, he had summited 194 times) was like, "Camp at your own risk." I took that warning.

Got the campsite at around 3 1/2 - 4hrs later, and broke camp. The rain was letting up and it came to a complete stop at around 4pm. At this point, I was napping.

Decided to hike to the summit at 6:30pm and made it up by 7:10pm. I was the only one up there. Signed the book at 7:22pm. I was going to catch the sunset, but didn't want to hike in the dark (I did have my headlamp).

Got back ate dinner. I was the only one there. It was a great way to collect your thoughts, and banjos. Luckily, no banjos were playing.

Headed back the next morning at 7 and made it to my car at around 9:30am. I would recommend camping up there. 5 liters was plenty as i ran out when i got the car.

Great hike extremely strenuous. If i were to do it again i would camp at the halfway point the first day and then the 2nd i would go to the top. I’m not terribly out of shape and in my 30s and this trail was very hard for me. Someone that was with me in their 20s who is in very good shape also said this trail was very hard for them. I’m not sure what’s going on with these reviews that say it’s not strenuous. They must be Olympian’s or hike every day. Took us 7 hours and we were rushing to get back before dark.My advice is to start at 7am and to take your time.

so fun and great views that will make you so surprised you’re in texas! it was very tiring- we took a few breaks before we reached the campsite but then we dropped our packs and went for the peak! highly recommend doing this as no one is trying to mess with your stuff and what’s better than reaching a peak without all those pounds on your back?! we had a great time but would consider returning when it’s not summer lol it was miserably hot out but well worth it!

The best of Texas! An overall trek but not particularly difficult trail to hike. Took me approx. 2 hrs at a steady pace with a few breaks to reach the top. At the summit is a rewarding view, with plenty of areas for a potential nap. Be careful though, there are several areas that the trail drops off a cliff several hundred feet on the exposed side(no fence or rails), so watching your step along the trip-hazard prone rocky path is very important. A great short summit hike.

VERY HARD trail. The view at the top is beautiful, but the rest is just ok. Not worth how hard the hike is. Bring lots and lots of water and snacks. Do not hike in the heat. This trail almost did me in. Not recommended unless you are in GREAT shape and an experienced hiker.

I hiked this trail 6 years ago as training for the Grand Canyon. Up and down is equivalent to half the canyon. I did up and down in 6 hours with a 35 pound pack. the same time it took to hike down the Grand Canyon. very similar type of hike and great views and training. I did this in September. very hot.

Great hike with great friends! This is a beautiful part of Texas. I would highly recommend it! We did this in early June and would encourage plenty of water and food. It was really hot on the way down, but it was incredible! All of it!

Great hike! My wife and I set out at sunrise which allowed us to get almost all the way up with great shade. We are decently fit. We took our time on the way up, took several short breaks, and it took us 3.25 hours. We had a a short break on the top and then kept a healthy pace on the way down (pretty much no breaks) and it took about 2 hours to get back to the parking lot. It was pretty rocky most of the way. Trekking poles helped save our knees. Great views all the way up. Good shade spots scattered all the way to the summit. Really enjoyed this hike!

A nice easy hike with some good views and lots of little trails off the main trail to do some exploring too. There was water along the trail but it didn’t taste good at all. Lots of people and trail that at times was not marked very well.